Power-operated ram



F. IVI. CASTLEMAN.

POWER OPERATED RAM.

APPucATmN EILED MAR.17,1920.

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POWER OPERATED RAM. APPLICATION FILED IIAII. I7. 1920.

Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

2 SHEETSTSHEET 2.

INVENTOR Z Ww I Cpt/pmu Cl' M #v ATTORNEY vPTENT OFFICE.)

FRANK M. OASTLEMAN, or ROTHEREAM, ENGLAND, VAsSIeNOa, l:BY ,MESNEY ASSIGNMENTS, TO TEE UNION SWITCH a SIGNAL COMPANY, or SwIssvALE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

POWER-OPERATED RAM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patnted Feb, 21, 1922.

Application mea March 17, 1920. serial No. 366,713.-

.rams for railway systems and more particularly light railway track systems for mining tubs or trucks and the like, and has for its object -to p-rovide an improved arrangement of ram mechanism which shall be Jspecially `:applicable Yfor the .propulsion of vehiclesof the above description Lpast a given point in the railway track.

Arrangements -have previously been propoSedcomprisi-ng a power-operated ram lo- `cated on the traok,zbetweentwo rails thereof, the movable ste'mfor plunger `of the ram being provided with an ,armflexibly connected thereto and .projecting upwards at a suitablean'gle tothe axis of the ram itself so as to be'capable of -engagingwith a coupling hook Onthe vehicle.

According to theIk present` invention a 'poweroperated ram offthe above general character isV Vso constructed that fluid under pressure isarranged to be supplied to or released from the ramcasing on the inner side ofthe plunger, the space On the outer side-'ofwtheplungerbetween the ram casing and the plunger Stem or rod being arranged '-toibe, permanently connected to |a source of .fluid under pressure.;

v According to a further feature of the in- A vention, the extremity of the Araml above referred to is adaptedl to engage with the axle ofy the l,tub or truck passi-ng over the ram so 'that upon such engagement being effected `andthe ram actuated by pneumatic or other forms of power, the thrust of the plunger will .be transmitted through the projecting farm-to the'axle of the vehicle fwhich will therebyl receive an impulse -inthe desired direction p The invention-1 is -illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which Y Y Figuretl'is a view in side elevation of a portion of` a light lrailway track-provided with -ram mechanism constructed in accordancewith onezform ofthe p invention.

-Figure 1s a vlew 1n ,longitudinal` section of tie power-operated ram Shown in Figure Figure S'being a view in side-'elevation of the head of the ramon an enlarged scale. Figure l1 is a View in transverse section showing the lram in position between-the rails of the track.

Referring now tothe drawings it will be seen that the power-operated ram comprises a cylindrical casing-1 located horizontally -midway between the track rails 2 and of a length corresponding to the stroke-for travel of the ram which it-'is desired toobtain. One end'of the casing 1 isprovided `with av head 3 containing the inletand exhaust valves for the admission-Ofiiuid under pressure for operating. the ram, these valves being preferablyarra-nged to beoperated by anyvsuitable type of electro-magnetically ac- A.

ing beyond the opposite end of the casing 1 to that. terminating in the vhead Brand being provided with a :suitable gland or bushing indicated at 6. The outer end of the plunger stem 5 is provided'with a cross head 7 on which is pivotally mounted as indicated at l8 one end-Of a-drivingarmf-serving to transmit the thrust of ythe ram to -a l vehicle aXleAlO with which it engages, the

pivotal connection of the driving armv 9 and the cross head 7 being horizontally arranged so that the arm 9 is free gto rotate to a limited extentin the vertical plane containingthe axis of the'ram. The upward movement of the driving Iarm 9vrelative to the cross head 7 is limited by a stop 11 formed on thecross.

head itself and the drivingl arm 9 is normally `maintained in its np-wardinclined'position, as Shown in Figures y1 and 3, by means of a' suitable spring 12, thefupper endof which abuts against the upper portion of the cross.'

head, as indicated at 13, thelower endofthe spring 12 abutting against a lag-,or tail 14 formed on the driving arm v9 beyond lits pivot 8. The outerend13 of thedri-ving tarmv9 is slightly curved to a suitableforml for,

-ure 3,

Thefweight of the stem or rod 5 4of the plunger 4 and ofthe cross head 7 connected;=

thereto is arranged to be carried by a pair of rollers 17 (see Figure 4) rotatably mounted upon the pivot `8 for the driving arm 9, which rollers operate on runways 18 mounted upon the track midway between the track rails 2.

The ram casing 1 is secured in position on the track by a clamping or mounting device indicated at 19 in Figure 1 which forms an abutment withstanding the thrust exerted by the ram during operation.

As stated above, theoperation of the ram is preferably effected by fluid under pressure and for this purpose the interior ci the ram casing-1 is adjacent to the packing gland 6, arranged to be in communication with a source of fluid under pressure by means o a pipe 20 as shown in Figure 2. The opposite face of the plunger 4 is arranged to be supplied with fluid under pressure through a suitable valve located within the head 3 communicating with a chamber 21 formed in the head 3. Fluid under pressure is also arranged to be released from the Vchamber 21 through a suitable release valve, both these valves being of any suitable type, preferably electro-magnetically actuated.

The operation of the ram mechanism above described is as follows Owing to the resilient mounting` of the driving arm 9 a truck or other vehiclevl can pass freely over the driving arm in one direction, each axle 10 o1 the truck depressing the driving arm 9 against the action of the spring 12. After the axle has passed over the end 15 oi the driving arm, the latter rises under the action of the spring 12 to a positionlimited by means of the stop 11. 1n this position the end 15 o1c the driving arm 9 is at such a height above the track rails 2 as to engage with the axle 10 of the truck as clearly shown in Figure 3. In order to drive the truck forward, fluid under pressure is now admitted to the chamber 21 through the inlet valve communicating therewith, and the pressure thus produced in the rear part of the ram casing 1 acting on theA full area of the ram plunger 4 `forces the latter forward, this forward motion being opposed by the resistance of the truck16 to movement and by the pressure ofthe fluid supplied through the pipe 20. This latter pressure, however, only acts upon a reduced area of the plunger 4 constitutedby the difference between the full area of the plunger and the cross sectional area of the plunger rod or stem 5. rlhe plunger 4 and its stem y5 are consequently driven forward, movement being thus imparted through the cross head 7 and the driving arm 9 to the axle 10 of the truck 16. After the plunger 4 has 'completed its' full range of travel, the truck l 16 will be carried forward under its ownv momentum and the plunger 4 may be withtruck or vehicle. the plunger is effected by operating the outlet valve for the chamber 21, the fluid under pressure contained in the ram casing 1 being thereby permitted to escape to the atmosphere. Under these conditions theplunger 4 moves backwards under the pressure of the fluid supplied through the pipe 20 and the stem or rod 5 of the plunger and cross head 7 of the driving arm correspondingly return to their retracted position.

The improved ram mechanism of the invention is particularly suitable for use in connection with unloading and loading gear for the hoisting plant in collieries and other mining installations, but may also be utilized in connection with othertrack systems where a propelling' impulse is required to be transmitted to vehicles at a particular point in the track.

' rThe constructional details or the ram and driving arm mechanism may obviously be modified in accordance with the conditions to be met without exceeding the scope of the invention. Y

Having now described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y 1. Power-operated ram mechanism for' railway. or tramway systems Vof the kind This return movement of comprising a power-operated ram located on ff the railway track, the movable stem or plunger of theeram being provided with an arm lieXibly connected thereto projecting upwards at a suitable angle to the axis 'of the ram itself and adapted to engage with the of the plunger between the ram casing and`-' the plunger stem or rod being arranged to be permanently connected to a source ofuid under pressure, for the purpose specied.

2. Power operated ram mechanism of the kind claimed in claim 1 in whichv the end of' the driving arm is adapted to engage with the axle of the vehicle' to lbe propelled, for

the purpose specified. 3. Power ram `mechanism 'for railways comprising a casing located 'in'the-*track-y 1 way, a piston movable in said casing and provided with a stem projecting from the casing, means for constantlyrf supplying fluid pressure to said casingv on one side of the piston to retract the piston and stem, and means for at times connecting the casing on the other side of the pistonwith a source of liuid pressureto project the piston and stem.

14. Power ram mechanism for railways comprising a casing located in the trackway,

apiston movable in said casing and provided with a stem projecting `from the casing, Vmeans for biasing said piston and stem to a retracted position, and means for at times admitting fluid pressure t0 said casing in the rear of the piston to project the piston and stem in opposition to said biasing force.

5. Power ram mechanism for railways, comprising a casing horizontally disposed in the trackway, a piston movable in said casing and provided with a stem projecting from the casing, a driving arm pivotally at` tachd to the outer end of said stem to move into and out of the path of cars on the trackway, and a spring Afor biasing said driving arm to such position that it will engage with a car on the trackway.

6. Power ram mechanism for railways, comprising a casing horizontally disposed 1n the trackway, a piston movable 1n sald'casing and provided with a stem projecting from the casing, a driving arm pivotally attached to the outer end of said stem to move into and out of the path of cars on the track- Way, a spring for biasing said arm to such position that it will engage with a car on the trackway, and a stop for limiting the upward movement of Said arm under the influence of said spring.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

F. M. CASTLEMAN. 

